Teaching Notes for “The Romans in Britain”
The scheme consists of ten linked worksheets. They target years 4 to 6 at Key Stage Two.
Each of the linked worksheet is designed to be a used as a stand-alone lesson of approximately sixty
minutes duration. Each graphic rich worksheet contains a sufficient variety of activities to
accommodate pupils of different ability.
The worksheets are:
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Who were the Romans?
The Roman Army
Roman Forts
The Invasion of Britain
Roman Roads
Roman Towns
Roman Towns 2
The Roman Villa
A Visit to the Town
The Saxon Shore
Links with the National Curriculum
Worksheet Number
1
Chronology
1a (Place in time)
1b (Vocabulary)
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2a (Key features)
2b (Social & cultural)
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2c (Causation & change)
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2d (Key events & change)
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3
4
5
* assessment opportunity )
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9
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3 (Interpretations)
Enquiry
4 (Use of Sources)
Organise & communication
5a (Recall and select)
5b (Dates and vocabulary)
5c (Understanding)
10
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There are many excellent visual resources to be found on the Internet to support the worksheets, for
example some excellent drawings of Roman towns and photographs of Roman Army re-enacting.
Who were the Romans?
This worksheet covers the development of Rome and the Roman Empire. The map shows key towns
and countries, using the original Roman names.
Pupil activities are to find modern names of map locations and write about the key learning by
selecting from alternative word combinations.
There is also an extension task to write about how the Roman Empire still affects us today.
Teacher extension might be to tell the story of Romulus and Remus and the founding of Rome.
Modern maps of Europe will also be required.
The Roman Army
This worksheet deals with the organisation of the Roman Amy, the equipment carried by a legionary
and the reasons for the success of the army. It also covers the cultural impact of the army by
introducing road building and how many modern towns can be traced back to army forts.
Pupil activities are to label a diagram of a legionary’s equipment and to complete some sentences to
reinforce learning. There is an extension task to write about why the army was so successful.
Teacher extension might be to find more images of legionaries or diagrams of how the army was
organised into legions, centuries and so on.
Roman Forts
This worksheet deals with the layout and organisation of a fort.
Pupil activities consist of a word search with the extension activity to write a short description of a
fort.
There are several excellent illustrations of roman forts on the Internet that may be used to support
this worksheet.
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The Invasion of Britain
This worksheet focuses on Caesar’s expeditions to Britain. It introduces some learning about the
Celts and the contrast of their battle tactics with those of the Romans. The worksheet also contains
sources about the appearance of the Celts.
There are two types of pupils’ activities. There are four questions to reinforce the factual content of
the worksheet and four questions that extend pupils’
Question 7 is by way of an extension task for the more able, requiring synthesis of information from
both the sources and the previous worksheets on the Roman army.
Question 4: (finding information in historical sources)
Level 3: listing of the resources
Level 4: explains the types of resources
Level 5: as level 4, but explains why Caesar is interested in the resources
Question 5: (finding information in historical sources)
Level 3: lists points about the Celts
Level 4: lists relevant points about the Celts
level 5: specifically selects examples that praise the Celts.
Question 6: (comparing historical sources)
Level 3: simple descriptions using one source
Level 4: developed description using more than one source
Level 5: comparison of points of similarity or difference
Level 6: comparison of points of similarity and difference
Teacher extension might include pictures of the Celts and further information on the Celtic way of
life, using the picture source as a stimulus.
Roman Roads
This work worksheet focuses on how roads were constructed as well as their social and economic
impact on Roman Britain.
Labelling of a diagram of how a road was constructed will reinforce learning. Pupils are also asked to
write about roads and then to compare a simplified map that shows Roman towns and roads with a
more detailed one to research the modern names of what were once Roman towns.
The extension activity asks pupils to extrapolate why certain parts of Britain did not have roads.
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Teacher extension could include teaching about Hadrian’s Wall and the Picts, as the maps on the
worksheet will probably stimulate questions about them. Pictures of both the wall and Hadrian can
be found on the Internet.
Roman Towns
This worksheet is focuses on finding and extrapolating information from historical sources. The
worksheet’s eleven photographs of the remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum are used to teach
about the key features of town life and allow pupils to take control of their own learning. These tasks
are particularly suited to teacher led group work.
The final task accommodates differentiation through outcome, where pupils synthesise all of their
learning into a description of the key features of a roman town.
Teacher extension could take the form of extra visual resources and teaching about the eruption of
Vesuvius in AD 79. The descriptions written by Pliny would enable pupils to access primary sources.
Roman Towns 2
This worksheet provides a traditional factual approach to learning about the key features of Roman
town, supported by a labelled diagram.
The pupil task is to copy a passage that contains jumbled-up words. The un-jumbled word is then
copied in to a space in the text. There is also a pupil copy the diagram of the town, with spaces for
labelling.
Teacher extension could be to provide extra visual resources on towns.
The Roman Villa
This worksheet focuses on life in countryside and in particular the key features of a villa. Learning is
supported by a diagram of a genetic villa.
The pupil task is to synthesise information in order to write a letter from the proud owner of the
featured villa to a distant cousin. This could be used to assess key features and communication.
There are many good pictures of mosaics and Roman villas to support the teaching of this unit.
Teachers might like to include extra teaching about the workings of a hypocaust. The Seahorse
mosaic is to be found in Fishbourne Roman Palace.
There are opportunities for linked artwork in this unit, designing mosaics that illustrate features of
Roman life.
Key Features and Communication
Level 3: simple listing of key features
Level 4: simple explanation of key features
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Level 5: developed explanation of key features
Level 6: structures and well developed explanation of key features
A Visit to the Town
This worksheet revisits prior learning on the layout of the town and focuses on clothing, shopping (to
teach about trading links across the Empire) and Baths.
Pupils are given a crossword puzzle to solve, based on information gleaned by reading the
worksheet. An extension task for the more able could be to write about a visit to the Baths.
The Saxon Shore
This worksheet focuses of the chronology of the collapse of the Roman Empire, as well as the
withdrawal of the legions from Britain and the construction of the Saxon Shore.
It offers an opportunity to revisit prior learning about chronology and in particularly the concepts of
BC and AD dating, for example: “If a man was born in 10BC and he died in 40 AD, how old was he
when he died?”
There are four questions that both test and reinforce prior learning.
Question 5 asks pupils to use the map to extrapolate from the location of the Saxon Shore forts,
where most attacks were likely to have taken place.
Question 6 (historical interpretation)
Level 3: agrees / disagrees citing a relevant reason
Level 4: agrees / disagrees explaining a relevant reason
Level 5: agrees / disagrees explaining how a cause specifically led to the Romans leaving Britain
Level 6: agrees / disagrees making a case for one reason being the “most important”
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Owen Scott
January 2010
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